Our family tales from India and back again

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We’re here. But that’s about all I know most days.

We arrived last week and have survived the jet-lag sleepwalk that predictably lingers a few days more than you’d like. We’ve gone through the work meetings, set up our classrooms, and are enjoying the last rainy weekend before life kicks up into high gear and all of us are back at school.

Transitions are not my forte. There’s no secret in that. And this week is no exception. All my slow summer routines and reflective moments have been scrapped in favor of quick showers and frantic texts to coordinate playdates and pick ups.

We’re in survival mode, and that’s okay for week one, but I don’t want to stay here. I don’t want accept the tornado-like quality my life takes on when we all head back to school. I can give myself grace in that moment, but I don’t want to accept it as the norm.

The easy answer is we shouldn’t be here. India asks too much of us and throws us off balance in a way that won’t let us ever recalibrate totally.

But that’s not the truth. We can find our way. We always do. I will build in quiet early mornings. An occasional dinner date. Leisurely afternoons at the Hyatt.

But right now, that all seems very far away, but I know it is there. We just need the dust to settle and a little time to rebuild our India skin.

*Oddly enough, or not really at all, I wrote this post almost exactly a year ago. Same feelings different year. That let’s me know that this won’t last forever, even if it feels a bit dark and overwhelming right now.*